How to Understand Your Body and Eat Healthy

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There is so much stigma to eat healthy nowadays, that it’s hard to decide what’s right for you. I’ve tried a lot of different diets that have failed at some point or another. It’s hard to suggest what to do because only you can decide what is right for your body. I’ve tried detoxes, keto, Weight Watchers, and some other random ones. I like fruit too much to stick to keto and Weight Watchers was easy to follow but when I went off it, it was difficult to understand what I was eating without the point system and I’d gain weight back on.

Now, I have been successful with being mentally strong and doing a lot of research to understand what to eat for my body. With that knowledge, it becomes easier to plan what to eat and make smarter decisions. These tips are ones I’ve learned on my journey to be smart about what to eat and understand your body to eat healthy. These are my opinions and I am not a medical professional, I am sharing my experience and how it has changed my life.

1. Understand your Body

Are you gluten-sensitive? Gluten allergy? Allergic to a food? When you understand what your body can digest easily, then you can start creating meals that will fuel your body and not just upset it. You don’t want to plan a huge meal plan only to be bloated and upset after most meals. Take the time to understand what you are eating and certain things that make you bloated, gassy or just an upset stomach. This is an important step because you will be able to see what makes your body feel better with what you eat. I would suggest to take the time for 1 week and write down what you eat for each meal/snack and how your body feels after. If you see a trend for not feeling good after a certain food then you probably have an issue with it. You can also talk to a licensed professional to determine if you have a resistance to any food.

2. Understand your Macros

I’ve always been confused when trying to understand these numbers and how they relate to me and my body. It’s actually pretty easy. To calculate your macros there is a simple formula to figure it out. Check out the formula below.

Once you have your breakdown its so much easier to understand what food you are buying at the store.

The app I have is called MacrosFirst. I recommend figuring out your specific macros first then inputting it into the app instead of relying on the app to figure out your formula. You are able to create recipes that will have the breakdown of the macros and calculate them for your daily intake. It also has a ton of restaurants available on it so you can see what you are getting when you go out. This has been a game changer for me to eat healthy and understand the breakdown of what I am eating.

3. Focus on Protein

This is what keeps you full! While I use my tracking app, I focus mainly on meeting my macro goal for each day. This helps me not snack during the day because I don’t feel like I need to be eating. I will make sure I always have water with me because if I am close to a meal and start to feel hungry, I drink some water and that helps me get through to my meal.

4. Get your Veggies

I try to get some vegetables in at least 2 meals for my day. Breakfast is a difficult one for me but I make sure my lunch and dinner have some kind of vegetable. This provides you with a lot of nutrients that your body needs to regulate itself. The easiest way to plan for vegetables and not break the bank is to shop seasonally. Each season has some that are ripe during that time of year so they are cheaper to get at the store or farmers market. It’s easy to eat healthy when you understand the changing seasons and what will be ripe in each season.

5. Plan Grab-and-Go Snacks

I’m not talking about super expensive premade snacks but something simple that is ready to go with minimal to no prep. I love the Kirkland Protein Bars, it packs 20 grams of protein in 1 bar. Keep apples in stock when in season. Get some jerky or beef sticks that give you a boost of protein and fat. These are simple options that will help you stay on track and cut down on unnecessary snacking. Keeping it simple will help you not overspend at the store buying a lot of snacks that won’t keep you full for long and aren’t healthy for you.

6. Meal Plan

Having a meal plan will allow you not to focus on whether your meal will meet your goals or even what the meal will be. I have the same breakfast during the week, it’s under 500 calories and has 47 grams of protein! I know it will keep me full until lunch and I don’t have to think about what I will be eating each day. I rotate 4-5 lunches every week and may add in a different one depending on the season and what produce is cheaper during that time. Dinner takes longer to plan but I plan a month at a time so it’s easier. You can check out my post here for tips to make your monthly meal plan. This will save you time and also money at the grocery store.

7. Swap Ingredients

Did you know you can use plain nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream? I can’t tell a difference and I get 23 grams of protein for 1 cup. Or you can monkfruit sweetener instead of sugar and avoid a glucose spike? There are small swaps you can make when preparing food that will add more nutrients or protein to your meal. Make a simple pizza crust with plain nonfat Greek yogurt and self-rising flour, it’s easy and doesn’t take a long time. Use bone broth instead of regular broth to add in some great nutrients and extra protein.

8. It’s OK to Eat Dessert

You don’t need to deny yourself something you want. If you want dessert, then eat it. There isn’t anything wrong with it. If you want to make some swaps with your ingredients to make it a little healthier then great. If not, that’s ok too. If you deny yourself something when you are trying to eat healthier then you will fixate on not being able to have it then you will overeat when you finally do have it. There is nothing wrong with giving yourself a treat. My go to sweet treat at night is an Oikos Triple 0 Vanilla yogurt cup with Lily’s Dark Chocolate Morsels. I would say to have a smart portion of it and not an overly large one though. There is a way to have a good relationship with food and it’s that it’s ok to have dessert!

These tips have helped me rewire my brain for what I am eating. I no longer want to binge on my weekends or have a cheat week because I am restricting myself so much during the week. I truly think of it as a brain rewire because it has healed my relationship with food. Now while I believe this can happen to anyone, it is up to you to do your research and you have to be ready to make the change in your life. I am able to make smarter choices when grocery shopping and having a meal plan in place, also helps not overspend.